Canada: Vancouver

June 25, 2016

Last week Ryan and I took a long 4-day weekend and drove up to Canada. I'd honestly never been out of the country except to Mexico, and that's not really "out of the country" when you grow up in Texas. Let me tell you-- I love Canada!

Alex Fraser Bridge Crossing into Vancouver

Vancouver is SO clean and gorgeous. We hit it on a nice-weather weekend and it was amazing. Even though we went for Ryan to throw in the Harry Jerome track meet, we were able to do a little exploring in between.

Because Ryan was sponsored for this meet we stayed at the University of British Columbia. Don't get me wrong, this was not your average dorm! Travel tip: If you want to save money on your trip, check out the local university to see if they offer housing options for cheaper than staying in a hotel. UBC starts at $129 per night...does it get any better than that when you're traveling internationally and want to be comfortable?

Images c/o UBC

Not only can you stay at UBC, it is such a gorgeous campus. I've never been on a campus that was so visually colorful and interesting. There are great markets and cafes that are open year round in case you need a late night snack or want to grab an artisan pizza at Mercante.

Where we stayed at UBC

Not only is UBC a beautiful campus, it's a short walk to the beach where you can catch an amazing West Coast sunset. (Another post to come!)

There are so many amazing coffee shops around Vancouver. You bet that was the first thing I wanted to do when I woke up on our first morning there...find coffee! I Yelped Rocanini which was on the way to the Harry Jerome and it was amazing! It's always nice to have a break from the usual grab-and-go quick Starbucks that I usually get in Portland.

After coffee we headed down to Granville Island to walk around the markets and grab a bite to eat. It was a hard decision, but we landed at Off The Tracks which is a little bistro that offers, breakfast, coffee, sandwiches, small bites and beer and wine. I couldn't help but gravitate toward their amazing almond milk matcha latte :)

Off The Tracks Bistro

Rowing dock on Granville Island

One of the reasons I love Vancouver so much is because it reminds me of San Francisco!